Holosonics’ Audio Spotlight Technology Delivers Focused Beams of Sound at the HistoryMiami Museum’s Hurricane Andrew Exhibit
At the HistoryMiami Museum, audio for the Hurricane Andrew: 25 Years Later exhibit is driven by five AS-16i Audio Spotlight speakers that project isolated spotlights of sound to accompany videos that appear on several large-scale, semi-circular projection screens. To meet the challenge of providing audio in specific locations in the museum without causing “sound bleed” that would impact patrons viewing other exhibits, Audio Spotlight integrator IMAGOS Entertainment was chosen to install the sound system for the 5,000-square-foot Hurricane Andrew exhibit.
Since no other sound system can deliver focused sound in a convenient, flexible, and easily customizable package like the Audio Spotlight technology can, the IMAGOS team knew that AS-16i speakers were the perfect solution to create an immersive, three-dimensional audio experience for the exhibit. The exhibit’s audio-visual projections use eyewitness accounts, historical footage, and documentary photography to reveal the impact of the 1992 hurricane, which – at the time it occurred – was the most destructive hurricane in Florida’s history.
Upon entering the exhibit, patrons view video on a series of semi-circular screens suspended at different heights in the gallery that depict locations as they appeared before, during, and after the storm. The screens, which are arranged to represent the feeder bands of the storm, include audio provided by the Audio Spotlight system which produces narrow beams of sound, similar to beams of light from a flashlight. The AS-16i speakers are suspended from the ceiling and pointed downward in order to direct the beam of sound right to the visitors’ heads, sonically immersing them as they view each of the video screens.
AUDIO SPOTLIGHT AS-16i
IMAGOS Entertainment chose Holosonics’ Audio Spotlight for its clarity in tone and its uncanny ability to project focused beams of sound and to keep the sound in that cone of isolation, thus maintaining a precise balance between all of the museum’s audio-based exhibits. The self-contained units – speaker, amplifier, and audio player in one package – use a standard VESA mount, which allows for very flexible installations.
“Audio Spotlight enables us to create what we call ‘Audio Illusions’, which translates to the ability to whisper in someone’s ear, to make sound come from places people expect, and places they don’t expect, as well as to create an immersive environment – all of which helps us to tell our clients’ stories in a unique and interesting way,” said Jorge Suarez, Owner of IMAGOS Entertainment
The Audio Spotlight system provided a perfect solution for the HistoryMiami museum curator, who needed focused sound contained to the exhibit area where each of the semi-circular screens project visual depictions of Hurricane Andrew’s impact. For its use in museum settings – or any other similar usage – an Audio Spotlight speaker ensures that any exhibit can have its own isolated audio, while the surrounding area is always undisturbed, and is peacefully quiet.
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ADVANTAGES
Sound for specific displays - and quiet elsewhere.
Several soundtracks in one room - without disturbing others or interfering with one another.
Untethered sound delivery, without the need for messy headphone wires or unsanitary handsets.
